Site Mobile Navigation

Wrapping Their Dreams Around Their Wrists

OWNING an expensive watch is like owning a luxury car. You don't need a Mercedes to get from Point A to Point B, but it sure can improve the trip. And while you don't need a fancy watch to get through a day of appointments, you can at least feel like you're spending quality time.

Then there is another similarity: some luxury watches cost as much as a Mercedes.

''The range in the luxury watch market is basically $2,000 and up with the majority of handmade fine watches bringing in $8,000 to $10,000,'' said Hank B. Siegel, a watch collector and vice president of Hamilton Jewelers with stores in the Princeton, N.J., area and Palm Beach, Fla.

But some watches with special features can cost much more.

''The six-figure level is not uncommon,'' Mr. Siegel said.

The market for luxury watches with mechanical movements almost disappeared in the early 1980's after the Japanese began dominating the market with quartz watches that were cheaper and more accurate. But Swiss watchmakers have re-established themselves at the high end of the market by relying on status, collectibility and mechanical wizardry to attract buyers.

''People are coming to appreciate them as wearable art,'' Mr. Siegel said.

That is how Cecil Harvell, 38, a lawyer in Morehead City, N.C., saw the purchase of his $17,500 Patek Philippe watch, which his wife bought him as a gift: The watch is an expensive piece of jewelry, no different from something he might give his wife. Not only does it make a statement, but with a 7-year-old son, Mr. Harvell said he viewed the watch as a keepsake that could be passed down through the family -- and possibly grow in value.

Although some rare watches can appreciate, they are exceptions to the rule, experts say.

''I've never heard anybody say anything about watches being a good investment,'' said Joe Thompson, editorial director of American Time magazine, which covers the watch industry. ''It's a wonderful thing to have, and over time some of these may appreciate, but on the whole they don't.''

Daryn Schnipper, a senior vice president at Sotheby's who runs its watch and clock department, said the watches that did well at auctions tended to be rare models from manufacturers like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Rolex.

Still, she said, ''it's really difficult to say what's going to be a good investment.''

One of the most important factors in determining prices is the number of ''complications,'' or extra features, in a watch. These include calendars, moon-phase indicators, stopwatch features and hour-and-minute chimes.

Some complications are so involved that few companies offer them.

A perpetual calendar, which automatically accounts for leap year (one tiny gear inside the watch turns every four years), can add $15,000 to $30,000 to the price, Anthony J. D'Ambrosio, executive vice president at Tourneau, the watch retailer in Manhattan, said.

The most difficult complication, a tourbillon -- a gyroscope-like device that turns about every minute to compensate for gravity's pull on the timepiece -- adds from $40,000 to $120,000 to the cost of a watch.

Patek Philippe took complications to an outrageous extreme in 1989 by producing the Calibre '89, a watch with 900 parts, 33 complications and a price tag of $2.7 million.

While Mr. Harvell said he could not imagine paying much more than his $17,500 for a watch, he said he was aware that the calendar features telling him the day, date and month on the Patek Phillipe he selected were good values.

SO what else helps determine the price of a luxury watch?

Important factors are the amount of labor, the reputation of the makers, the rarity of the watch, the quality of the materials and the styling of the watch, Mr. D'Ambrosio said.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

Dealers and collectors consistently place brands like Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin at the top of the industry hierarchy. Patek makes about 15,000 watches a year, and Vacheron, the oldest company in the business, about 11,000.

By contrast, Rolex, arguably the biggest name in the industry, makes 600,000 to 700,000 watches a year by marketing them for ruggedness and reliability. The watches cost from $2,100 to $150,000.

Some dealers and collectors include Jaeger-LeCoultre at the top of their lists and move Vacheron down a notch, while others include names like Breguet, IWC, Piaget or Bulgari.

Working down through the hierarchy come brands like Chopard, Ebel, Rolex, Breitling, Baume & Mercier, and Omega.

A handful of young Swiss watchmakers are also gaining attention. Franck Muller, for example, is renowned in the industry for his tourbillons.

Although a collector may sneer at quartz watches, they are still a part of the Swiss luxury market and account for most of the country's overall watch exports. Quartz watches are driven by a quartz crystal, powered by a battery, while mechanical watches are driven by a balance wheel, powered by a spring, which must be wound.

ONE dealer said he would consider it a mistake to buy a $9,000 quartz Patek Philippe, likening it to buying a sports car with an automatic transmission. Another dealer disagreed, saying quartz might suit the buyer's life style and still provide its owner with some hand-finished mechanical workings.

Ultimately, marketing may be the biggest influence on buyers of luxury watches, Mr. Thompson said.

What's the difference between a $1,500 Omega Speedmaster Professional in stainless steel with a chronograph, or stopwatch, and a Rolex Cosmograph with the same features, which lists at $10,500? Basically the name, Ms. Schnipper said.

''The whole Swiss watch industry is based on status,'' she said.

Although Mr. Harvell said he did not really shop around for price, collectors say that buyers can often get discounts of 5 to 20 percent. Often, the buyer simply has to ask the dealer.

Mr. Thompson said the market for luxury watches has changed over the years. He recalled the chronograph craze of the mid-80's and the complication craze that began in the late 80's.

He said the market is now courting women by making smaller versions of the men's watches, expanding the range of styles and, in some cases, adding more jewels.

Of course, the ultimate question for many buyers remains whether these watches are worth the price.

''They are to a lot of people,'' Mr. Thompson said. ''I say the same thing about my son's sneakers. At $100? I know they're not worth it; they can't possibly be.''